Page 83 of Call Back

Chapter 17

I forced a laugh. “That’s pretty fanciful for you, Miss Ava. You strike me as being much more grounded.”

“Nothing about me is fanciful, Magnolia Steele.”

Cold sweat broke on my forehead. Ava Milton might think she knew something, but if she expected me to verify it, she had another think coming.

To my surprise, she simply let out a loud sigh and set down the bowl of icing she was working on. “Rowena Rogers may not be in the public view,” she said, returning to the pot on the stove, “but she’s still around.”

“Do you know where she is?”

“Sometimes the things we search for are hidden in plain sight.”

“Does that mean you’re Rowena Rogers?”

She laughed. “No. I have far more class and tact than that tart . . . but mention her to our guests before the Bible study and find out for yourself.”

“You want me to have a conversation with your guests?”

“If you so choose. I’m considering nominating you to be a trial member.”

I wasn’t sure which was more shocking—that she was considering making me a member or that I might take her up on it.

Ava got back to work, but she refused to discuss anything related to my father. Instead, she had me make a batch of scones, which made me more nervous than I cared to admit. Under her watchful eye, they turned out perfectly. Part of me wanted to tell my mother about my baking victory, but I suspected she wouldn’t appreciate that I’d achieved it under her nemesis’s tutelage.

Forty-five minutes before the guests were due to arrive, Ava sent me to my apartment to shower and change. I almost told her about the cameras in my apartment and begged to shower in her house instead, but decided not to press my luck. Now that Colt was certain he’d figured out who’d hidden the cameras—Owen—there was no point in leaving them there. I’d find the camera in the bathroom and rip it out myself.

But when I walked out the back door, Colt was waiting on the steps to my apartment again, and I released a surprised squeak.

“What are you doing here so early?” I asked, rushing up to him. He was still wearing the shirt he’d had on last night, and his hair was smooshed on one side. “You look like shit.” That was probably the only time I’d be able to honestly tell him that, so I decided to not waste the opportunity. Even so, the memory of our kiss flooded my head, making me warm in places that had no business being warm on a cool April morning.

Colt seemed oblivious. He made a face and groaned. “Rub it in, Maggie.” He’d used my nickname, so I decided he couldn’t be as pissed as he sounded.

I really needed to get ahold of myself, but my reaction to him only drove home the fact that I was right to pack up my things and leave Brady’s. It wasn’t fair to him when I was lusting after somebody else. And Colt Austin to boot. That pissed me off since I’d vowed from the moment I first laid eyes on Colt to not fall for him. “What are you doing here?” I asked in a clipped tone.

Surprise filled his eyes. “Checking on you. And bringing you this.” He pulled my purse out from behind his back.

That knocked my irritation down several pegs. “You stopped by my car?”

“I wanted to make sure it was still there, undisturbed. And it was.”

“Then how did you get my purse? I’m pretty sure I locked the car.”

“I have my ways. Do you want me to take you to get your car when you’re done here?”

“Yeah. Thanks.” One problem solved. Three hundred and thirty-six more or so to go.

He climbed to his feet, although it looked like it took more effort than it should have.

“Owen was there when I showed up at Brady’s doorstep last night.”

Colt did a double take. “What? How did that go?”

“Surprisingly okay, although he mentioned my wet, dirty clothes. Since I couldn’t confess I’d been hiding under a semi, I told him it was because my car had broken down. Thanks to your minor sabotage, it wasn’t a total lie.”

He had the good grace to grimace with guilt. “Good thinking. Do you know why he was there?”

I hesitated, realizing I’d compartmentalized what the people around me knew. While Colt knew the most about my father, he knew nothing about the night I’d been held captive. Brady only knew some things about my father, but he knew everything about that night. I wanted to tell Colt the whole story—I’d wanted to for a while—but he was keeping important information from me. “You still have your secrets, and I still have mine, remember?”

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